DocuFest Wilmington

A brief history of the Documentary film, and the goods on DocuFest Wilmington.

By Ann Berry

Wilmington, NC – On Sunday, March 14th Cinematique and IDA present the second annual Docufest: a celebration of documentary film.

Cinematique of Wilmington and the International Documentary Association in Los Angeles are collaborating to bring a day-long celebration of the documentary film to Wilmington, Sunday March 14 in the screening room at Screen Gems Studios from 11 am to 6 pm.Modeled after the DocuFest screenings in LA, last year?s event featured the Oscar-winning documentary Spellbound, along with the heartbreaking and funny Mai?s America, the award-winning OT: Our Town, and the poignant muckraking of Marlo Poras? Senorita Extraviada.

DocuFest 2004: Schedule

Program A: 11:00 am to 12:15 pm

Sunset Story (75 min) Laura Gabbert Audience Award, Los Angeles IFPAudience Award, Los Angeles IFP w Special Jury Award, 2003 Tribeca Film Festival Filmmaker Laura Gabbert takes her cameras inside Sunset Hall in Los Angeles - "a retirement home for the political progressive"- to document the lives of residents Irja Lloyd (81) and Lucille Albert (95). Their symbiotic friendship grows as we follow the two on everyday tasks, from manicures to political rallies and protests. These women tear down our little old lady stereotypes with their sharp wits, and strong opinions on everything from gender roles and men to social attitudes toward the elderly.

Program B: 12:30 to 1:10 pm

Ferry Tales (40 min) Katja Esson Academy Award nomination, Berlin Film Festival This film documents the women?s powder room on the ferry which takes commuters across the Hudson River from Staten Island to Manhattan. The film is a sneak peak into a culture that only happens for 30 minutes a day as women are transformed from housewives to businesswomen, from mothers to lawyers and from sisters to socialites.

Program C: 1:45 to 3:30 pm

Capturing the Friedmans (107 min) Andrew Jarecki Academy Award nomination, NYFCC Award, best non-fiction film w Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival A technology buff, Arnold Friedman taught computer classes from the family basement to children in the neighborhood. When an investigation uncovered Arnold?s involvement with child pornography, police began to question his relationship with his pupils. As the charges pile up, the family crumbles. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures.

Program D: 3:45 to 5:45 pm

Balseros (120 min) Carolos Bosch & Jose Maria Domenech Academy Award nomination, IDA Award, Goya Award This film follows the mass exodus of 50,000 balseros, or rafters, after Castro?s 1994 opening of Cuba?s coastal borders. In the summer of 1994, a team of public television reporters filmed and interviewed seven Cubans and their families before they planned to set out to sea in homemade rafts to reach the coast of the United States. Seven years later, the film crew visits them again to discover what their destiny has been in the United States. Distributed by Seventh Art Releasing (323) 845-1455.

Tickets as well as lunch, snacks and coffee available at Screen Gems Studio Perk on the day of the event.Seating is Limited. Individual Programs: General Admission $4 Students and seniors $3, All-day passes: $12.

For more information, call (910) 343-1640.

Ann Berry is the Marketing and Outreach associate at WHQR Public Radio.